Some random thoughts after a random moment

It’s summer. Good times. For me this means being outdoors as much as humanly possibly. The other day I biked from work to the swimming pool (outdoors) and did laps (did I mention the pool is outdoors? Love it.) After doing laps I went to play beach volleyball. Changing out of my swimsuit, I put on workout attire, applied no makeup, did precisely nothing to my wet hair (forgot my brush) and got back on my bike.

By the time I was almost there, I realized I was hungry and so pulled over at a concession stand to purchase dinner, which was a hotdog.

Because I was late, I started walking my bike and eating the hotdog as quickly as I possibly could.

Just as I hit the beach area, I scarfed down the last (big) bite of the hotdog. I just want you to have the complete picture as I saw myself: wet from the pool, sweaty from the bikeride, possibly with mustard dripping down my chin and unable to speak because I had just taken too large a bite. Classy!

At the point at which I could not speak for chewing the hotdog, two guys approached me. Here I thought, oh great, they are going to want directions somewhere and they will have to watch me chew for five minutes before I can answer.

But no, they approached so that one could say, “You are the prettiest girl I have seen all day.”

My actual thought was: He must be drunk.

I recount this on this blog for the following reasons. A) It’s nice when men pay women random compliments that are not lecherous and well meant. B) It’s nice in particular when they pay me random compliments, I’m not gonna lie. C) I can’t stress enough to you how modest my attire was, and these fellows were leaving a beach filled with less-than-modest ladies. D) The immediate female thought is I can’t possibly look good, so they must be visually impaired, or they must be drunk where apparently the male thought is more simple: she looks pretty, and I’m going to tell her.

Andrea, I love this. And you ARE so pretty! You make a good (and scary) point though, about women “like us” (that is, modest and decently humble!) assuming men are impaired in some way in order to pay us a good ol’ fashioned compliment. Alas, some men still really ARE gentleman!

I used to brush off compliments until I read somewhere that when you do that, you’re essentially accusing the one complimenting you of being insincere, or a liar, or at the least, of having bad taste. (Thank you, 1950’s etiquette manual!) So now I just say, “Thank you,” and leave it at that.